Bottom Line Personal, a publication of Boardroom Reports, offered a most useful list: a Caregiver's "Emergency Kit"

* Health information:
Photocopy of Medicare cared.
Copy of Medigap policy or policy number and agent contact information.
List of current diagnoses.up-to-date list of current medications with dosage schedule.
Primary care physician and specialists with phone numbers and which conditions they are treating.

* Legal documents:
Living will (if they want extraordinary measures taken in a medical emergency).
Power of attorney for medical and/or financial decisions.

Here's a useful article on CNN.com about "How to sell or get rid of your old gadgets."

Monday, November 26, 2018

Oh, to Not Multitask - Interruption Management

For today, give yourself the benefit of working on one thing at a time. You may have to switch gears, such as when the boss comes in, the important phone call comes through, or you receive a message that requires immediate action, but when you switch gears, switch them entirely: give your complete and undivided attention to the pressing issue at hand. All told, this is the most effective way to work and you'll be your happiest.

Meanwhile, if you notice yourself falling into patterns that resemble multi-tasking, try these solutions:

* Take a 15-minute break once during the morning, once during the afternoon.

* Don't eat at your desk, get away so that you can recharge your battery.

* Invest in equipment or technology that offers you a significant return, i.e. pays for itself within one year or less, and saves at least two hours a week of your time.

* Hold regular meetings with your team to discuss how everyone can be more efficient, without multi-tasking. Focus on the big picture of what you're all trying to accomplish. Often, new solutions to old problems will emerge and activities that seem urgent can be viewed from a broader prospective.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Wise Attention is Best - Interruption Management

Society implies that it is your civic and moral duty to keep abreast of every tidbit of news and current events. Yet, in this era more, information is generated on earth in one second than you can take in the rest of your life.

The notion that you can watch the news, read the paper, or scan the Web to catch up on events is erroneous. You can only keep abreast of a small amount of information. So make wise choices about where you want to offer your time and attention.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Cellphone Use: Family Life Suffers - Interruption Management

HealthDayNews.com: Cell phones and pagers, part of the technological revolution that was supposed to liberate everyone, is tethering people to their jobs to an unprecedented degree, to the point where family life is suffering. The study limited the blame to cell phones and pages, and not computer-based communication such as e-mail.

Cell phones and pagers were linked to increased psychological distress and reduced family satisfaction for both sexes.

The research, by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sociologist Noelle Chesley, appears in the December issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family. "The use of cell phones and pagers was linked to increased distress and a decrease in family satisfaction over time," said Chesley, an assistant professor of sociology. "There is clearly a link between using the technology and experiencing increased access."

Amazingly, this study was done in 2006!

Sunday, November 04, 2018

The Web as Social Hangout - Interruption Management

From the AP newswire 12 years ago, in New York:

“The online hangout MySpace got even more popular in November, beating Yahoo in Web traffic for the first time, a research company said Tuesday. News Corp.'s MySpace recorded 38.7 billion U.S. page views last month, compared with 38.1 billion for Yahoo Inc., according to comScore Media Metrix. MySpace's growth was 2 percent over October and triple the 12.5 billion recorded in November 2005.”

“The numbers underscore the rapid rise of a social-networking site that encourages visitors to stay and make friends through free tools for messaging, sharing photos and creating personal pages known as profiles.”

...So, the popular sites have changed but the massive grab of our time and attention has increased markedly.

complex charts 22%

Is the constant crushing burden of information and communication overload dragging you down, pulling you off course, and impeding your effectiveness? By the end of your workday, do you feel overworked, overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted? Would you like to be more focused, productive, and competitive, while remaining balanced and in control?

If you're continually facing too many interruptions and too many demands, you need Breathing Space.